Parting Gift
by Pen-Name-Kitsune-chan
Summary: A last minute gamble leaves Itachi only mostly dead. Torn between hatred and love, Sasuke is ultimately forced to choose between his revenge on Konoha and bringing Itachi back. ItaSasu/ SasuIta. Yaoi, slash.
1. Until Death

**So... Yet another fic that may or may not ever be completed. :/ I'll be writing this in a way so that I can wrap it up quickly, though, if I run out of steam, so at least it won't be abandoned**

**Warnings for the story: incest, yaoi/slash, violence, gore, cursing, angst, some fluff, sex, rambling writing style**

**I decided to make Itachi a sensor in this, because sensors are fun to write, and it went with the story**

**I'll be updating once a week or so, although for every 5 reviews I get, I'll push that forwards a day. If you can't wait, this fic already has three chapters posted on y-gallery: /view /941198**

**Please review! Reviews help me improve my writing, and even something simple as 'update!' encourages me to write faster (and to prioritize this fic over my original stories). Feel free to flame!**

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His chakra surged in response to Sasuke's forming Kirin, physically pouring from his body (leaving rips behind in his soul and life-force and mind as the jutsu sought hungrily after chakra that Itachi just didn't have) and taking shape, constructing the form of Susano'o with a speed that Itachi had never accomplished before.

The lightning crashed into the jutsu's outer shell with a blinding light and deafening noise, leaving Itachi's ears ringing as it reverberated painfully throughout his already aching body. Susano'o began to disintegrate under its brute force, stealing more and more of Itachi's already dwindling life force.

The roaring stopped... leaving nothing but uncomfortable pressure and a pulsing silence.

The light faded... leaving nothing but flashes of strange lights and black spots dancing across Itachi's vision, gray encroaching from all directions and poisoning his already limited view of the world.

Only the barest wisps of the Susano'o construction remained.

Pain lanced through Itachi as the jutsu started stealing the last remnants of his life-force in order to rebuild itself. He let his eyes slide shut even as his chest heaved agonizingly and the iron taste of blood flooded his mouth, leaving his throat feeling raw as coughs wracked his body. He considered letting the Susano'o do as it wanted, knowing that he would likely need that shield to guard against Sasuke's further attacks while he drew out the poisonous remains of Orochimaru in Sasuke's chakra system and soul...

(Itachi cursed the day that he was so weak as to let that accursed snake live rather than killing him in retaliation for trying to steal the sharingan – why hadn't he _realized_ who Orochimaru's next target would be?)

His spinning head slowly began to steady itself, and Itachi opened his eyes, noting that his vision had settled down ever so slightly, letting him make out vaguely the form of his precious brother.

Sasuke...

A faint memory filtered through Itachi's pain-hazed mind, of sleepless nights spent studying both the Uchiha clan's and Madara's records in search of the many secrets of the sharingan. Could it possibly work?

Gritting his teeth, Itachi brought his iron will to bear and clamped down on the flow of chakra to Susano'o, refusing to allow it to draw any more of his life-force away than necessary, stalling the process even while the behemoth remained invisible. The prospect of sleep, a precious commodity that had eluded him for over a decade, taunted him, yet he knew that Sasuke would likely need him more, especially with that traitorous Madara still around.

He used that same will to force his lungs to work, asking, "Is that what you saw in your vision of my death?" (Sasuke's surprise was almost a tangible force in the air to Itachi's chakra-sensitive skin). He coughed again, quietly, weakly, hopefully lowly enough that Sasuke failed to notice, and began to force himself to stand. He rose into a crouch, sensing the return of that accursed power to active use, and let the jutsu siphon away a small bit of his returning strength, forming a wavering, translucent image of the skeleton of Susano'o.

"If I hadn't used this, I would have been obliterated," he murmured, yet he knew that Sasuke likely heard. Then, wistfully, "Sasuke... You've become so strong..." He pushed against his body's limits, his muscles and bones and very soul screaming at him to stop and rest, and rose entirely to his feet. Not that the protests of his pathetic shell mattered... He wouldn't be alive for much longer to feel the damaging after-effects of his actions. "Behold, my final technique... Susano'o." He straightened fully, swaying only slightly on his feet, letting the technique solidify even further (the chakra as it left his body feeling like fire in his veins and leaving behind only ice).

Itachi didn't really listen to his own words as he began to talk, taunting Sasuke into drawing on that last hidden vestige of Orochimaru's power, much too focused on remaining standing to be able to do much else.

Consciously, he reformed the muscles on Susano'o, builds its right arm to completion... And stopped, the denial even more painful than dying in such a slow and agonizing way. He gasped, unable to stop himself as the jutsu fought against his grasp, wanting to do more, take more, complete itself and _win_.

(Itachi nearly fainted from the strain – he had never been skilled at denying Susano'o and forming only part of the behemoth.)

He felt the latent power of Orochimaru surge... Sasuke's screams and the almost writhing of his life-force in reaction to the snake somehow managed to hurt Itachi even worse than the struggle with his own jutsu. Scales erupted from his brother's shoulder, shooting out to form a gargantuan hydra, its chakra oppressive and menacing, leaving Sasuke collapsed at its base.

Tremors coursed through Itachi's body as he formed the gourd in the right (and currently only) hand of Susano'o. He took a deep breath and started to slowly walk forwards, holding his body with an unaccustomed stiffness in order to prevent it from collapsing on him. The hydra hissed loudly and surged forwards. Coming to a halt, Itachi redirected his attention to the jutsu, power pouring from the gourd to form into the shape of a glowing, ethereal blade. Susano'o lashed out with it, cleanly severing the head of the foremost of the snakes.

Again, a loud rushing sound almost like thunder... Three heads fell to the ground with resounding crashes. Another swing... Removing two heads. Twisting the sword, moving for another slash in the opposite direction... Another head separated from the body, leaving only the most cautious of the eight, the primary head.

Orochimaru's hiding place.

The snake opened its mouth wide, gross squelching sounds coming from within as something arose. The patterns of its chakra, suddenly uninterrupted by those of the snake, clued Itachi into the change moreso than his already mostly failed vision. "... You finally show yourself..." he muttered, grim satisfaction filling him, battling against the weariness that weighed down his every limb.

Itachi focused inwards as the sounds of Orochimaru's sword-summoning and subsequent rant reached his ears, the sword lashing out to pierce Orochimaru's body right before the last word of his bold declaration. His eyes remaining shut, Itachi grinned slightly, his exhaustion showing plainly, and asked, "Alright Sasuke, you got anything else?" He felt true pleasure for the first time since the Massacre as the sword sucked Orochimaru into the eternal genjutsu. Served that bastard right, for daring to drive Sasuke so far from Itachi's intended path and then actually having the audacity to claim Itachi's little brother as his own.

His vision worsened even as the sword conquered Orochimaru's will, leaving only a dim perception of light and darkness. Itachi accepted that, the fact that he would never receive that one final glimpse of his precious brother, as the price he had to pay in order to free Sasuke of Orochimaru's influence and correct one of Itachi's numerous mistakes.

The gourd closed, permanently sealing Orochimaru away from the world... And Itachi's will failed ever so slightly as Susano'o surged in triumph, partially rebuilding its still unfinished sides and face. He collapsed to his knees, violent coughs ripping out of him, blood flying from his mouth to stain the stones below.

A deep shuddering breath... Itachi mentally repeated the mantra that had kept him going for all those years of unrelenting darkness. _You're doing this for Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke, your precious little brother. Sasuke is worth it, worth everything, all the pain and misery and blood. _Sasuke... Shivering, Itachi fought down the darkness that threatened to swallow him whole, knowing that he couldn't rest until he assured himself of Sasuke's continued safety.

He raised his head, staring blankly in the direction that his chakra-sensitive skin told him that Sasuke should be. Heavy breaths rattled in and out of his chest, sharp pain rising out of the aches with every expansion of his diaphragm. Itachi could sense Death hovering over his shoulder, waiting to claim his soul.

He knew that he would be able to make it over to Sasuke, but he would have to reinforce Susano'o against the panicked boy's more than likely attacks, and that would leave so little for his final jutsu...

Itachi smiled grimly and closed his unseeing eyes. Carefully, agonizingly, he released the addicting jutsu, its disappearance leaving him feeling almost impossibly empty and bereft. Its humming power faded from around him, and Itachi's painfully keen awareness of Sasuke's presence increased nearly tenfold. Every fluctuation in his chakra spelled out his vital signs, his heart rate and breathing, along with his emotions to Itachi's skilled abilities. Itachi lacked the range of most other sensors, but he more than made up for it in sensitivity – especially in regards to Sasuke, practically the center of his universe.

He coughed lightly, clearing the build-up of blood and phlegm in his throat, before calling out (unable to completely hide the shaking of his voice), "Sasuke..." Too soft, so again, the tone betraying his exhaustion and the level of his injuries, "Sasuke." His brother's chakra jumped, twitched in response to Itachi's voice, which Itachi knew must sound so vulnerable. "Come here." No response, except for a nervous flutter from Sasuke's chakra, betraying his indecision. Swallowing his pride, Itachi added, "_Please_."

The tentative sounds of Sasuke's footsteps filled the air as his brother approached Itachi, who remained kneeling on the stone, unwilling and mostly unable to rise to his feet. Itachi focused on breathing evenly and deeply, hoping to extend his remaining time even slightly, as Sasuke slowed to a halt in front of him. Itachi shifted back, opening his eyes and tilting his head upwards to 'look' in the rough direction of Sasuke's eyes (which still radiated chakra, even though he didn't have his sharingan active – a sign of true potential for power far beyond that of Itachi's, maybe even enough to challenge Madara).

"Itachi..." Sasuke's voice was barely a whisper, shock staining his tone.

Itachi let his useless eyes slide shut once again, the lids impossibly heavy (he felt so tired, so very tired, deep within his soul, as if he had gone a century without a moment's rest). "You won, Sasuke," he whispered, almost smiling. Sasuke's chakra flared in response to his shock and bright triumph as the reality of Itachi's apparent inability to rise sunk in. Then, his voice weak, "Please, Sasuke... Come here." He made the beckoning gesture that he had always used as a kid calling his younger brother closer.

Sasuke's presence nearly overwhelmed him as his brother almost stumbled the last few steps and dropped to his knees in front of Itachi, within easy arm's reach. Unable to stop himself, Itachi's hand rose of its own accord, settling on Sasuke's cheek before the younger could even begin to move backwards. Still, he felt his brother's flinch, and the instinctual reaction tore at his heart. "Otouto..." He murmured, running his thumb over Sasuke's cheekbone, trying to build up a mental image of his brother. He opened his worthless eyes, showing clearly his blindness.

"I can't even see your face anymore..." His voice fell in volume with each word, until it had grown nearly inaudible, but he could hear the way that Sasuke's breath hitched in response to his words and the motion of his hand. "I don't even know what you look like now, and you've grown so much..."

He smiled, wistfully, and continued the exploration of Sasuke's face. Shockingly, his brother did nothing to stop him – maybe some remnant of those feelings that Sasuke had once held for his beloved older brother? Or maybe pity, for the weak creature that Itachi had become? Did Sasuke gloat as his brother acted so pathetically, or did he sit there in shock, unable to think coherently enough to respond? His chakra was a chaotic mess, the many conflicting emotional signals confusing to Itachi's pain-addled mind. Itachi knew that he shouldn't have been acting in such a way, shouldn't give away so much in his final moment, yet he found his normally indomitable will crumbling under the force of Sasuke's aura that pulsed against his skin.

"Sasuke..." he sighed, his pulse pounding in his ears. Sasuke's chakra stirred in interest, questioning, fluttering against Itachi's skin. "I want you..." A cough, flecks of blood flying out onto Sasuke, and then a deep, shuddering breath, "...To take my eyes." Shock with strong undertones of horror and revulsion slammed into him, leaving Itachi gasping for air, his chest constricting painfully. He coughed again, more violently, raising one shaking hand to cover his mouth, blood splattering into his palm. His other hand fell from Sasuke's face to grip desperately at his shoulder as Itachi shuddered and his diaphragm heaved. Sasuke watched him, motionless.

"Wh-Why?" Sasuke asked, voice nearly shaking, eyes surely trained on the vivid blood that stained Itachi's pale lips and hand.

Itachi took a deep breath, halfway leaning into Sasuke as he attempted to regain his bearings. "It's not like I'll have need of them once I'm dead," he murmured, keeping his unseeing eyes downwards, refusing to show Sasuke his face. "These eyes are already useless to me." With another breath, his hand relaxed from its death grip on his brother's shoulder. "You, however... Will have need of them, sooner or later." Itachi felt somewhat proud – and faintly surprised – that he had managed to keep his voice steady and his pain mostly hidden as he spoke.

"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked. The quivering of his chakra betrayed his emotions even as his voice remained mostly steady.

Itachi stayed silent for another moment or so. He absent-mindedly and gently started to caress Sasuke's shoulder beneath his hand. Tremors ran through him at the hum of Sasuke's chakra, at the feel of Sasuke's almost silky porcelain skin – so unlike Itachi's own imperfect flesh.

"Sasuke..." He breathed out, gathering his scattering wits. He must have been more exhausted than he had realized, if his mind felt so hazy. "It is... highly likely that Madara will approach you once I'm dead..." Sasuke's chakra surged briefly at the mention of the name. "Don't blindly follow anything that he says... You have a brilliant mind, Sasuke, but you very rarely think things through..." Sasuke bristled, the affronted tone to his chakra like pinpricks on Itachi's sensitive skin. "I... have never been able to even seriously challenge him." The admittance stung, many of his greatest failures all rolled into the same person. "You've grown so strong, Sasuke, you have so much potential... Please, Sasuke, once you've fully mastered the sharingan, kill him, and rid the world of its worst plague since the Juubi." Sasuke made no sound, the patterns of his chakra indicating that Itachi's words had stunned him into speechlessness.

When the silence had stretched for over ten seconds, Itachi coughed to clear his throat and began speaking again. "The vial with the preservative is in my left back pocket," he said, cursing his body's weakness, which cut his time remaining so tragically short. He took one final, deep breath, his chest expanding incredibly painfully, and gathered the remnants of his chakra and life-force into a tight ball in his stomach.

The hand resting on Sasuke's shoulder slid upwards almost of its own accord, briefly cupping that perfect face before reaching behind Sasuke's head. His fingers threaded into that silky, thick, perfect hair. He shook with the effort of moving despite having drained his chakra channels bone dry. His muscles tingling and fiercely aching and mostly unresponsive, Itachi pulled Sasuke towards him while leaning forwards at the same time, tilting his head in order to press an open-mouthed kiss against Sasuke's closed lips.

Sasuke's lips felt rough against Itachi's mouth and tongue, wind-chapped and dry. Those lips parted as Sasuke made some sound of shocked protest. His chakra fluctuated wildly in time with his racing heart, the pulse nearly audible to Itachi's ears. Itachi opened his sightless eyes and, bracing himself, _pushed_. His gathered chakra and life-force flowed from his stomach, up his throat, and out his mouth, pouring into Sasuke. He shook as the action tore at the holes left by Susano'o, but still he refused to back down or stop. Itachi reached farther into himself than he ever had before, into that part of him from which radiated his will and love for Sasuke.

Itachi's other hand rose to join his first, holding Sasuke in place. He breathed out. His soul pulsed once within him before the air moving from Itachi's lungs to Sasuke's tugged it along with the stream. Itachi's hands fell, gripping tightly at Sasuke's shoulders as his strength fled him, leaving him light-headed and incoherent.

(Itachi found it morbidly amusing that Sasuke had quite literally taken his breath away.)

Sasuke shifted, and for the briefest of moments Itachi feared being pushed away. But those arms slid around his back, delicate, powerful hands twisting in his shirt and hair, and that wonderful mouth pressed back against his, a tongue flicking out as if to lap up everything that Itachi had to offer. Itachi shuddered and moaned helplessly, melting into Sasuke's touch as his little brother's hand strayed down to cup his ass. He left himself be yanked into Sasuke's lap, legs falling open easily.

His will faltered. Itachi wanted to survive suddenly, to [i]_live[/i]_ and breathe and simply exist by his brother's side. To feel such soft, dominating touches, to be consumed and used and broken and put back together by the person he loved more than any and everything else –

But there was no going back now, no erasing the sins of his past, no faltering from the road he'd set out on. Itachi moaned again, in regret moreso than pleasure. Tears gathered behind his useless eyes as he sorted through the deepest parts of himself, bundling together the bits and pieces that fueled his genjutsu, his personality, his will, and slipping that pulsing seed of life in with the stream of chakra flowing from him into Sasuke.

He slowly became aware of _light_ as he poured his chakra, life, soul into Sasuke. The glow started as a tainted dark blue shining slightly through the darkness before gradually lightening. It faded into the standard blue of shinobi chakra before flashing a brilliant white like moonlight. It radiated out from Itachi, illuminating even the darkness that he existed in, as he continued reaching deeper and deeper for _something_ to give to Sasuke.

The light faded from Itachi's awareness, and all he could feel was a bone-deep _cold_.

He lifted the same hand that had explored Sasuke's face, grasped first his shoulder then his hair, and poked Sasuke lightly on the forehead, able to feel even through that tiny point of contact the energy – _Itachi's _own energy –humming beneath Sasuke's skin.

"Forgive me, Sasuke..." He whispered, the words barely audible as he had no breath left to speak them with. "This is the last time."

The last thing Itachi became aware of was a warm chest against his bare cheek and impossibly warm and strong arms holding him tight –

– And he thought that it was a good way to die.


	2. Revelations

**Warnings for the story: incest, yaoi/slash, violence, gore, cursing, angst, some fluff, sex, rambling writing style. Also, Sasuke isn't entirely sane**

**Please review! Reviews help me improve my writing, and even something simple as 'update!' encourages me to write faster (and to prioritize this fic over my original stories). Feel free to flame!**

* * *

Sasuke thought that he really, really needed to start thinking more before he acted. Or at least get better instincts. His body moved on its own _again_ as he knelt before Itachi, triumphant delight filling him at the sight of his brother's pathetic state. The blind man reached a hand out to touch him. His callused palm rested on Sasuke's smooth cheek, and Sasuke's breath caught in his throat. His stupid, traitorous body rooted him to the spot, forced him to feel that gentle caress and to listen silently to the deep, sensual, hypnotic sound of Itachi's voice.

Bile rose in his throat at the thought of removing Itachi's eyes and taking them for his own. Sasuke had always _loathed_ gore, and some part of him that still echoed with the sounds of his child feet chasing endlessly after Itachi recoiled at the thought of desecrating his brother's body. Plus, any thought of damage to the eyes had always sent revolted shivers running up Sasuke's spine. He couldn't imagine what would drive him to willingly destroying his eyes as Itachi had, or to carving them out and replacing them with another's.

It... caused him disquiet, how calm and accepting Itachi seemed of his own death. Sasuke hated him all the more for it, for daring to die with such dignity and poise, especially when Sasuke knew that he would go kicking and screaming and cursing the world right until the bitter end. He had only ever felt such peace at the thought of his own death once, in that hazy time of his past...

Sasuke shoved the thought aside before it could even fully form.

His head started spinning when Itachi requested – nearly _begged_ – for Sasuke to kill Madara in Itachi's place... Old suspicions churned in the back of his mind, his little used analytical skills trying frantically to decode the puzzle before it turned to _too late_.

All thought processes ceased entirely when he felt Itachi's lips against his. Then, sheer _power_ flooded him like millions of volts of electricity surging from the sky and ground into his body, only barely controlled through years of hard training combined with force of will. After what might have been moments or years (Sasuke couldn't tell; the time period when Itachi's chakra and soul pulsed alongside his own seemed to both drag on forever and fly past him faster than normal eyes could perceive), Sasuke's arms broke free of his mind's frozen state and moved on their own to lightly grip Itachi's upper arms, slowly sliding around to his back and then lower, pulling Itachi into him as if they could somehow meld.

And then... Itachi separated from him slightly, breathed shallowly (the sound strange and rattling, empty almost) and whispered, "I'm sorry, Sasuke... This is the last time." Sasuke's heart skipped a beat as buried recollections of his older brother as he used to be threatened to overwhelm his conscious mind.

Itachi collapsed against him, and Sasuke caught the limp body entirely on reflex, half cradling it to his chest. His blood pounded in his ears as his mind spun uselessly, trying in vain to comprehend the sheer magnitude of the past few minutes. His body shook, starting with his hands and spreading throughout, growing in intensity until he quivered like Naruto being forced to hold still.

His brother's dead body held tightly to his chest, Sasuke threw his head back and started to laugh as lightning crackled among the clouds that he'd created and rain started to fall gently down.

* * *

After his initial relief that the whole fiasco was finally _over_ faded to a general giddy state (no doubt enhanced by the near overload of power singing through his veins), Sasuke sobered up and got down to business. Figuring that it couldn't possibly hurt, and he should prevent people from stealing Itachi's precious eyes _anyways_, Sasuke shifted Itachi slightly and reached into his brother's left back pocket, easily finding the aforementioned vial. He stubbornly ignored the burning itching almost-pain that had settled into the backs of his own eyes once he had come down from his brief natural high as he did so.

He carefully laid Itachi down so that his brother faced upwards. Itachi's half-lidded silvery eyes seemed to gaze blankly at something beyond mortal comprehension. Sasuke fought down shudders of revulsion and then scolded himself for them. Taking a deep breath, Sasuke set the vial down beside Itachi's head. He grabbed a dulled kunai with his right hand and leaned over his brother's prone form, using his left hand to grasp the still warm (and slightly blood-slicked) chin. He tilted Itachi's head slightly and, gritting his teeth, made several clean incisions around the eye, especially at the side creases, carefully cutting away the skin and tissue surrounding the delicate organ.

Once he had finished cutting away the extra tissue, Sasuke angled the dull kunai and gently dug it around and behind the eyeball before slowly exerting pressure. With a sickening sound, the eyeball popped free of the clinging tissue, the bundle of nerves and veins pulling up slightly with it. Sasuke grimaced and reached down to pinch the nerves with the fingers of his left hand. He pulled the eye up even more and severed the small bundle just behind where his fingers gripped it.

The eyeball cradled in his palm, Sasuke set the kunai down and grabbed the vial with his free right hand. He lifted the vial to his mouth and gripped the twist cap tightly with his teeth. He quickly separated the cap from the liquid filled vial without spilling a drop and lowered the vial. Sasuke slowly slid the eyeball into the preservative solution, carefully so as to avoid splashes. He then spit the cap into his relatively clean right hand and lightly replaced it on the vial, so that as least some fluid would remain in the event of a spill.

He set the vial down again. Sasuke then picked up the kunai and repeated the entire procedure for Itachi's right eye, the one farthest from Sasuke. Despite having confidence from the successful retrieval of the first eye, Sasuke still worked carefully. He knew that he couldn't risk damaging the eye in any way, shape, or form, or else it would likely be rendered useless. Once that eye had joined the first, Sasuke twisted the cap on as tightly as it would go. He then slowly tilted it upside-down in order to check for any leaks. None. Satisfied, Sasuke tucked the vial into one of his own pockets, an empty space supposedly reserved for small scrolls.

Inexplicably exhausted despite the energy filling him nearly to the brim, Sasuke sighed and sat back. He stared blankly at Itachi's dead body. His mind wandered meaninglessly, attempting to make sense of the whole situation and to figure out what the hell he was supposed to do next, as his life's goal had been completed.

He had originally counted on an almost immediate death following Itachi's, but he highly doubted that _whatever_ Itachi had done to him would allow him to take such a path.

His mind started mulling on the general idea of burning Itachi's body (a proper Uchiha funeral) and then finding his team before vanishing for a time to train. Perhaps he could also look into figuring out the location of this 'Madara' that Itachi had kept harping on about. However, before he could start to make any concrete plans, a presence appeared almost immediately behind him. The presence was startlingly sharp in Sasuke's perception, like shivers running up his spine and a tightening of his skin and his hands dipped in ice.

Sasuke jumped to his feet and spun around in one smooth motion. He landed in a ready crouch with his chokuto already drawn, electricity dancing beneath his skin, his sharingan spinning rapidly (the itching in his eyes flared to a sensation almost like fire and tears). He took in the immediately relevant details first: Akatsuki cloak (potential threat, enemy), stance tense but not an opening form for any sort of attack (exuding calm, not attacking but ready to defend and counter-attack, prepared for battle), and then less immediate details: bright orange swirled mask, short black hair (entirely unknown, potential threat level raised)...

Then a glimpse of red from the single eye-hole in the mask: _sharingan._ (From wariness to tightly reigned hostility, threat level soared).

"What do you want?" Sasuke snarled, letting his hostility and stress show through but (hopefully) not revealing his confusion and vulnerable emotional state. "And who are you?"

The stranger (_Madara_, if that eye was any indication, or else he was someone like Kakashi, a thief of bloodlines) held his hands spread in front of him, palms facing upwards, the gesture of peace (or at least no immediate ill-intentions). "We've met before..." He said, and a memory tugged at Sasuke's mind – the fight against that bomb-user who hated his brother, Deidara. "As enemies." How had he survived? His threat level rose in Sasuke's perception, especially as he began to notice the drastic changes between the demeanor of the man before him and that Tobi. "But don't worry about what happened with Deidara..." Sasuke found it strange, since he had seemed to care so much originally – a good actor, then, and not someone whose word Sasuke should trust (the energy buzzing through his body seemed to whisper and encourage his skepticism, largely repressed since that horrible night). "I am no longer your enemy."

The man obviously knew little or nothing about Sasuke, because he had no friends and few allies. Those three on his 'team' were little more than tools, convenient and kept around until such time when Sasuke no longer had need of them. Sasuke did not relax from his ready position, especially as his borrowed chakra started shifting restlessly in reaction to the man's prolonged presence.

"I came here to offer you assistance and first aid after your battle, although it appears that you don't have need of my services..." As if Sasuke would willingly have let anyone so untrustworthy that close to him. "But, also, I have something very important to tell you..." Sasuke wasn't interested _at all_, and it apparently showed in the continued hostility in his face and posture, as the man continued with, "It's about that corpse at your feet, Uchiha Itachi."

Sasuke's head snapped up slightly, his eyes meeting the man's (a foolish gesture that he immediately berated himself for), unable to hide the widening of his eyes, the surprise evident in his body and face, or his sudden surge in interest. His grip tightened on his kunai, his suspicions that this man very well might have been the one that Itachi had wanted Sasuke to kill rising.

"There we go..." The man said, almost condescendingly, when he noticed Sasuke's attention, "You know so much about your brother, yet at the same time, you know nothing at all." Sasuke had to fight down the growl rising in his throat, the way that his mental hackles went up and his chakra almost bubbled in his veins. "You asked who I am..." Sasuke narrowed his eyes, not liking how this man directed the conversation to his own ends. The man reached up to undo the ties on his mask, saying, "As you have likely surmised already... I am, much like you, a living, breathing Uchiha." He slowly pulled the orange mask off and to the side as he spoke, holding it so that only a small portion of the right hand side of his face showed, revealing pale skin with scars running into it from the hidden left side and a sharingan eye. "And the man who knows the truth about Uchiha Itachi."

At the sight of his face, pain lanced through Sasuke's head (_burning_, with the intensity of the sun, the frigid cold of the moon), centering blindingly on his left eye. The chakra within him surged and twisted without his direction, roaring like a western dragon from the travelers' stories. Black flame filled his vision, roiling and twisting and coiling like snakes. The man screamed and threw himself back from Sasuke, the attack clearly centered on him. His mask went flying from his hand to clatter on the stone floor, and Sasuke hunched over, clutching at his left eye, blood running into his palm.

He struggled to overcome the pain, more debilitating than the worst of migraines, for several moments, panting at that and the exhaustion that filled him despite the energy humming in his veins. The pain subsided after a few heavy pulses of his heart, the chakra within him seeming to rise in the same beat, until his exhaustion faded into an echo of itself. His reserves refilled themselves at a rate that he had never experienced before. "Wh-What the hell was that?" he gasped out quietly once he had regained his breath, rising unsteadily from the crouch that he had fallen into.

A scuffle from the side: Sasuke glanced over to see the man, what little Sasuke could see from such an angle of the left side of his face revealed to be a ruined, scarred mess, bending over to pick up the dropped mask before fastening it back in place. "Itachi's Mangekyou..." he murmured, maybe to himself, maybe in answer to Sasuke's question, "And his Amaterasu..." The man straightened from his half-crouch and took a step towards Sasuke. "Even in death, he never ceases to amaze me. Going so far as to plan for a situation such as this..." He took another step towards Sasuke, and Sasuke tensed, not ruling out the possibility of an attack (from either himself or the other).

He _must _have been Madara, Sasuke decided, right after he realized what the man meant. Itachi's chakra within him still stirred angrily, urging Sasuke to fight against or flee from this masked person. "Tell me," he said, muscles bunching in preparation to throw his kunai and shuriken, "Are you the one known as Uchiha Madara?"

Madara spread his hands out wide, clearly showing his palms – a useless gesture of peace, as any skilled shinobi could quickly flow into an attack form from that (Sasuke had even heard of attack forms designed to start from such a position of apparent weakness). "I take it that Itachi mentioned me to you," he said, that same almost-condescending tone having returned. Sasuke watched him warily, sharingan eyes – able to activate with the surplus of energy granted to him – spinning rapidly. "But before you make any... hasty decisions, hear me out."

"Why should I?" Sasuke snapped back, not relaxing from his stance, but his already tattered will weakening, visible in slight twitches, the barely perceptible shifting of muscles beneath raw, newly healed skin.

"That technique he used at the very end," Madara said, clearly not answering Sasuke's question. He continued before Sasuke could interrupt, "He transferred not only his chakra and remaining life force to you, but he also deconstructed his soul just for the sake of spare energy to pour into that gift. Somehow, he still had enough strength at the end to transfer his doujutsu to you – maybe that last as a last-ditch assassination attempt against me, or possibly to try and keep me from approaching you." Sasuke believed firmly that Itachi's motives had been the former, consistent with his insistence that Sasuke kill the very man before him. "Do you understand the implications of that life-force that he poured into you? Do you even know what it means to deconstruct one's soul and give it to another?"

Reluctantly, Sasuke shook his head, admitting to his ignorance and churning curiosity. He fought against it, yet something within him yearned for the answers to questions left unanswered since his childhood – questions for which Madara hinted at the answers to.

"That life-force... He was saving it, and his chakra, throughout the fight," Madara said, and Sasuke's muscles, held tense for so long, began to quiver – he told himself that it was merely the exhaustion, but his racing heart seemed to speak a different tune. "If he hadn't... He could easily have won and survived that fight." Sasuke reeled from the implications, mind scrambling between trying to give credence to this man's words and outright accusing him of lying. "Granted, he wouldn't have survived for much longer – his overall health has been deteriorating for quite some time, and he likely would have perished on his own anyways." Sasuke's world temporarily stabilized itself, offered a potential explanation for Itachi's actions – if he had known that his death was at hand _anyways_, then why not arrange things so that his goals would still be fulfilled?

Madara appeared to ignore Sasuke's mercurial moods and states of mind, as he plowed right on in his explanation (almost a rant, like something that he had been preparing to say for a long while). "His soul, however... That is another matter entirely." Sasuke fought against the curiosity welling up within him, knowing that he shouldn't be listening to this man's poisoned honey words, yet entirely unable to stop himself – his muscles were already relaxing almost of their own accord, things whispering in his mind that Madara was trustworthy, correct, had no reason to lie and possessed all the knowledge that Sasuke had yearned for throughout his life.

"The soul is vital – it is the very essence of one's being, more than memories or genetics or what have you." Why, exactly, was he rehashing something that Sasuke had learned in school? Sasuke gritted his teeth at the unspoken implication that he might have been an inattentive idiot like Naruto, to forget even basics like the definition of chakra. "Without it, he cannot hope to achieve resurrection or Nirvana." As if Sasuke had any need for philosophy and superstition. Why in all the hells should he have cared about karma and life-cycles? Sasuke knew that he would readily damn himself if it meant achieving his goals, so why should Itachi have been any different? "He has sacrificed not just this moment in time, but all of _eternity_ for you."

And? Sasuke highly doubted that Itachi's decision was anything personal.

The spell woven over his mind had lost its potency, and Sasuke sneered at Madara's pretentiousness. Sasuke still remained in his ready-stance despite his skepticism, though, remembering how those that waxed the most poetic – the Sandaime Hokage and Orochimaru came immediately to mind – were often also the most dangerous.

"Your point?" he asked, regulating his voice so that he sounded bored, detached – a tone that had always infuriated Naruto. His rudeness seemed to have a similar effect on Madara, as the man's chakra grew agitated – odd that Sasuke could notice that, light and irregular pinpricks against his skin – even though his posture and voice retained the same cajoling quality.

"Even the most ruthless of shinobi find their soul to be a precious thing." And most shinobi were complete morons as well. What was it that the philosopher had said? Even if a million people believed a stupid thing, it was still a stupid thing (in Sasuke's opinion, it then became all the more idiotic when supported by the beliefs of the unwashed masses). Impatience and frustration mixed with the agitation, three nearly identical shades of the same sensation. "Your brother loved you, Sasuke, despite all appearance to the contrary."

Sasuke scoffed aloud at that, incredulous that Madara would ever think that Sasuke could possibly fall for such an outlandish statement.

"You do not believe me." No, he was _really that gullible_ (Sasuke ignored the suspiciously-Naruto-like voice that constantly insisted that he had listened to Orochimaru, hadn't he, so he really _was _quite gullible). "Do you remember, how on that night, you asked Itachi yourself about the person who helped him slaughter the Uchiha?" Sasuke clenched his teeth, starting to calculate the best course of action for hitting this bastard with one of his chidori variants. "It was me."

Sasuke's mind stuttered to a halt, his emotions numb, his blood pulsing in his ears, distantly. Madara continued, apparently oblivious to Sasuke's shock. "I know everything about Itachi, although he died without ever realizing exactly how much."

Sasuke considered screaming, crying, telling this bastard to _go away and leave me the fuck alone_, but his throat had clenched up, refusing to let him speak, to let him try and drown out the whispers in his ears, rising from the dark recesses of his mind where they always seemed to lie in wait. His fists tightened, driving his nails into his palms, the sharp pain seeming to temporarily quiet the screaming in his mind. He relished the sensation, wishing that Madara would just _go away_ so he could go further, train with the agonizing lightning until he couldn't move anymore and the voices fled entirely.

That sickening voice filtered in through the racket in Sasuke's head, twining in among numerous others, dark whispers, slowly rising to drown out all the others. "Remember your loving older brother," said that mocking voice, and Sasuke's head and heart filled near to bursting with the strain.

_"Don't blindly follow anything that he says..." _echoed in his mind, softly, quietly, yet Sasuke latched onto that voice among all the others. The clamor quieted, yet Sasuke's misery only increased as his mind tormented him with his beloved brother's voice – not the cruel Itachi that he had come to loathe, but the god-like aniki that he had always admired. A thousand times and more those echoes resounded, tearing him apart, sending his chakra into a tumult, his blood pounding in his veins.

Sasuke curled in on himself, clutching his head, and screamed, his voice cracking and throat tearing.


	3. You

**Yay! Third chapter of Parting Gift. Thank you everyone who's reviewed and favorited!**

**Warnings: incest, fluff, Sasuke being moody/melodramatic (well, he ****_is_**** kinda melodramatic in canon), future smexy good times, angst**

**Disclaimer: don't own. Significant parts of Itachi's and Madara's dialogue were taken from the manga**

**Please review! Reviews help me improve my writing, and even something like 'update' motivates me to write faster. I'm especially a bit uncertain on Sasuke's characterization, so I'd love some feedback on that**

**Unfortunately I'm not entirely positive when the next chapter will be - I've been struggling with depression the past two weeks or so, and my ability to write has evaporated :( I've got ch 4 about a fifth of the way done, but it's kinda stalled**

* * *

_Don't tell me it's not worth tryin' for.  
You can't tell me it's not worth dyin' for.  
You know it's true:  
Everything I do, I do it for you._

_-Bryan Adams_

* * *

He awoke to a jagged stone ceiling. Sasuke shut his eyes, disorientated, believing for one brief moment that he was back in one of Orochimaru's hideouts until the reality of the past months – the last hours – crashed down on him.

Itachi.

Sasuke took in a ragged breath and fought the urge to cry.

_He cried that night..._

And he couldn't decide if he wanted to believe Madara or not – if he wanted Itachi to have loved or hated him – so he squeezed his eyes back shut and forced himself not to think.

For the first time in his life, he successfully sunk back into the void of unconsciousness.

* * *

_"Everyone lives, bound by their own knowledge and awareness. That's called genjitsu, reality. But knowledge and awareness are vague, perhaps better called genjutsu, illusion. Everyone lives within their own subjective interpretation, don't you think?"_

* * *

As he awoke again, Sasuke became aware of ropes binding him tightly. His chakra buzzed sluggishly under his skin – repressed.

The sound of footsteps –

"So, you're finally awake."

Sasuke gritted his teeth. "Go away and leave me the fuck alone." He _couldn't_ believe what the man had said – had no proof to back up the absurd claim that Itachi had loved him.

Madara 'tsk'ed. "Don't be so childish. You passed out before I could finish my explanation."

"I don't want to fucking hear it! I don't – I don't care anymore! Just never come near me again!" Sasuke curled in around himself, the whispers in his mind multiplying a thousand-fold until they became screams.

"Even if you don't want to acknowledge the truth, and want to continue living blissfully in your ignorant world of illusion... It's your duty to your brother to hear me out. Don't you owe him at least that, this man who risked everything to protect you?" Madara's voice had again become beguiling, and some quality of it reached into Sasuke's mind and soothed his misery.

Sasuke let out a shuddering, half-sobbing breath, but made no motion to stop Madara.

"The only ones who knew the truth at that time were the Sandaime, Danzo, and the two advisors, Homura and Koharu..."

Sasuke became increasingly dizzy as he listened to Madara's long-winded explanation, until he couldn't help but choke out, "He killed everyone... I hate him... My goal..."

"It's true, that he killed the entire Uchiha clan that night. And... He did it all on orders from Konoha!"

* * *

_Nii-san... _

_"Even if it's just as a hurdle for you to overcome, I'll always be there for you. Even if you hate me. That's what big brothers are for."_

* * *

_"The man who cried tears of blood as he smothered his emotions and killed his brethren... Couldn't bring himself to kill you. Why do you think that is? For him your life... Weighed more than the village."_

* * *

_Foolish, foolish older brother... How come you never realized that, even as my hatred consumed me, I never stopped loving you?_

* * *

Sasuke opened his eyes to the soft _zaaa zaaa zaaa_ of rain falling like tears, to the crackle of flames, to the hissing of snakes and the stillness of the grave.

He knew this place.

Smooth wood beneath his palms. A traditional rice-paper room lit only by firelight, its source unseen. The slow creaking of old beams. The babble of water streaming under raised platforms. Sasuke scowled and unsteadily rose to his feet. He _hated_ being here, locked within his own mind, especially after melding with Orochimaru left grotesque forms surging from the floor and walls alongside the ever-present bloodstains.

Why the hell had he returned?

The light flickered and almost died as a stray gust of wind rushed through heedless of the walls. Sasuke shuddered. The room he'd awoken it was completely empty, and when he stepped out into the hallway he could see only half-collapsed shells where Orochimaru's tortured sculptures had been. Sasuke surveyed the scene impassively as he focused inwards. Something else had changed – a different scent on the wind, a heaviness similar in magnitude yet far less menacing than the sannin. The shadows had become sharper, the paintings on the screen doors reflecting dark birds and hawks rather than snakes and mountains.

He sighed and pondered where to go. There were several distinct sections in his mind (or had been, last time he checked), three of which he dreaded: a representation of his parents' room where his nightmares lurked and brooded; a pond and endless forest where he'd shoved everything _Naruto_ and hidden every scrap of Itachi from Before; and a dark, twisted labyrinth where he'd locked away Orochimaru's consciousness. He'd definitely need to check Orochimaru's cage. If Madara's words were true, he'd also have to find whatever remained of Itachi's soul. Sasuke flinched at the thought – unless he got lucky and Itachi had simply replaced Orochimaru, he'd probably have to venture into his parents' room and the forest. Somehow, Sasuke couldn't decide which hurt more, the nightmare of his clan's demise or the gentle memories of those precious days with Itachi and then Naruto.

Sasuke headed to the labyrinth first. The entrance sprang into existence behind an otherwise unassuming screen door, revealing a narrow and steep staircase rapidly descending into darkness when he opened it. It had unnerved him at first, the dark whispers and almost conscious power flowing from his curse seal, buried deep underground within his mind. Now, though, Sasuke felt no hesitation as he strode blindly into the depths, even as all light vanished.

His footsteps echoed for several minutes, the sounds changing and warping as he passed side corridors and rooms. The air had definitely changed. Tendrils of power no longer caressed him from each open doorway, and he could no longer hear the soft beating of a foreign heart. No water trickled down the walls.

Finally, he came upon the last chamber. A faint glow came from a serpentine form coiled loosely around a massive heart. The heart had vanished, what little remained of the attached parts slowly rotting. The white snake breathed only shallowly, parts of its skin missing and exposing a dark void.

_'Hate them,'_ it hissed weakly to itself, trying and failing to lift its head. _'Hate them hate them hatehatehatehate – Konoha! Damn – hate them – that bastard Uchiha – hate – destroy – kill them all – make them pay – hate them – put Konoha to the torch – hate them all – tear every last one of them apart, how dare they – HATE THEM!'_

"Pathetic." Sasuke severed its head before it could react. He didn't need any part of Orochimaru to survive and influence his decisions, after all.

The corridors slowly collapsed as he left, disintegrating entirely rather than fading back as they usually did. Sasuke forcibly expelled any and all remnants, wiping that part of his mind clean – the labyrinth had outlived its purpose.

He emerged into a murky half-light. The room's far wall gaped open, revealing a thick sheet of rain. Weak sunlight filtered through, rather than the usual dark firelight. If he listened, he could hear faint ghosts of laughter in the distance.

Sasuke rarely cared to listen.

He could easily feel Itachi's power now, a sort of silent hum like a lullaby accompanied by the heavy wings of crows. Their harsh calls mixed with the birds native to Wave to produce a discordant melody. Sasuke sprinted towards the source, pulse thundering in his ears. The rain vanished as he moved through it, fading into a soft sun-shower as fireflies spontaneously rose from the grass.

Then –

_Itachi_.

Not a shade or a ghost or a half-formed fantasy, but _Itachi_, realer and more present than Orochimaru had ever been. He sat cross-legged before a shallow, overgrown pond, facing away from Sasuke.

"Nii-san," Sasuke whispered, hardly believing it could be true.

Itachi turned around to face Sasuke, utterly expressionless. Sasuke ruthlessly squashed the hint of disappointment within him – what had he been expecting? A smile?

"Is it true?" he blurted out. A frown flickered across Itachi's face.

"Parts. Not entirely, though, and he's twisted much of it." Itachi spoke quietly, refusing to meet Sasuke's gaze.

"You're innocent…" Tears prickled behind Sasuke's eyes. _'You're innocent and I murdered you.'_

Itachi shook his head. "No. I never was. Regardless of my motivation, I am still guilty." He turned, meeting Sasuke's gaze head-on. Sasuke realized with a jolt that Itachi's eyes were unclouded, his stare unwavering. "I wanted to die by your hand, otouto. Don't blame yourself for my death." He glanced to the side again, a hint of uncertainty creeping into his much quieter voice. "To die in your arms like that… was more than I had dared dream of."

Sasuke's chest _hurt_. He stumbled over to Itachi, falling to his knees in front of his brother. "Why… Just… You could have told me! I… I would've made you happy." His breath caught in his throat. Then, quietly, "I would've tried."

Itachi just smiled ever-so-slightly. "Would you have believed me? If when you came to kill me, I instead told an outlandish tale of how I'd been forced, and tried to convince you to join me?"

Sasuke squeezed his eyes shut, hurt. "I don't know," he whispered.

A hand cupping his cheek. Sasuke barely repressed a flinch.

"Sasuke." He cracked open his eyes, heart skipping a beat at the peaceful smile on Itachi's face. "I _am_ happy now."

"How can you possibly be - ?" Sasuke's voice broke.

"Foolish little brother. I'm with you." Itachi leaned in, giving Sasuke plenty of time to react before their lips brushed. Sasuke grabbed Itachi's head, pulling those sinful lips back when they tried to pull away. Sasuke'd kissed and been kissed before, always in the context of a power play, some attempt to express dominance or wheedle information. This… This was softer, and Itachi's simple ineptitude at just _kissing_ somehow made his heart stutter.

He pressed several closed-mouth kisses to Itachi's lips, breath catching at Itachi's awkward attempts to meet him. Their noses brushed, neither quiet managing to tilt their head at the right angle. Sasuke let out a breathless chuckle before cupping Itachi's face and forcing his brother to still. He lapped at those gorgeous lips, begging for entrance. After a few moments, Itachi responded hesitantly, tongue darting out to meet Sasuke's. Sasuke actually _smiled_ for the first time in years as he deepened their kisses, swallowing Itachi's gasps as he began exploring with his hands.

He removed Itachi's hair tie with only a little fumbling, allowing Sasuke to run his hands through that gorgeous, silky hair. His fingers massaged circles in Itachi's scalp, causing his brother to shudder and moan slightly. Sasuke pulled back from the kiss and smirked.

Itachi's eyed had drifted half-way shut, his gaze clouded once more. An acrid taste intruded into Sasuke's mouth, the familiar twisting in his gut of bitterness clashing with the faintest hints of unfamiliar doubt.

"Do you really want this?" He glared off to the side, spitting the words out. "Or are you just humoring me?"

Itachi chuckled, inflaming Sasuke's anger even as an embarrassed heat painted faint dots on his cheeks. "I was tempted to ask you the same thing, otouto." The old nickname made Sasuke shudder. Such an innocent word, but with that gorgeous voice, it suddenly sounded obscene beyond belief.

Hands stroked his bare arms as Itachi leaned in again, his breath ghosting past Sasuke's ear. "Sasuke… I want nothing more than to be close to you, as close as two people can be, to even become one with you..."

_Disgust_ rose in Sasuke suddenly, a sickening, coiling feeling he usually associated with Orochimaru's experiments – with his own silent complicity. He shoved Itachi away, sharingan flaring. His brother let himself fall back before rising and moving away on his own. Bile rose in Sasuke's throat at the sorrowful cast to Itachi's eyes.

"I'm not that little boy anymore," he spat, rage (and he _knew_ it was irrational, but he couldn't help himself, and with every word his self-hatred grew). "I'm not going to blindly follow all your wishes. You don't fucking know me! I still – you're so… A person like me…"

"Sasuke," Itachi said, far too calmly. "I understand."

"No, you don't! You don't fucking understand me! _I hate them!_" Sasuke panted, chest aching. "You – you love Konoha, don't you? Even – even with all they've done, even with all the corruption?"

Itachi nodded, slowly. "Yes. I'll admit, the village does have a dark side and inconsistencies of its own, but… No matter what, I am still Konoha's Uchiha Itachi."

"_I'll destroy them,_" Sasuke hissed through clenched teeth. "For all they've done to you – I'll destroy that bastard Danzou, and if the village gets in my way – if they side with him, I'll burn them all away! So – so don't you _dare_ say 'I want to be one' when we work for such different goals!"

Itachi glanced down and to the side, his gaze somewhere distant, beyond even the perceptive abilities of the Mangekyou. "I don't resent you for that, Sasuke. After all, it's entirely my fault that you've become this way, so I can't really criticize your decision, now can I?"

"My choices are my own," Sasuke whispered, eyes burning for some reason. Itachi just smiled gently at him.

"I can show you the truth, if you want…" Sasuke nodded, and –

_This… is Itachi's memory…_

Tears gathered behind his eyes, but refused to fall as Sasuke watched those days leading up to the Massacre. _How is this supposed to change me? It only makes me hate the entire shinobi world more… You were so young, so how could everybody possibly justify placing such a horrendous load on you?_

At last the genjutsu ended, fading into Itachi's heartbreaking smile. Itachi stood, his soft, regretful expression painfully reminiscent of their childhood.

"I always lied to you, otouto, telling you to forgive me. I always kept you so far away with my own hands. I just… didn't want to involve you in that mess. I wanted you to remain innocent for as long as possible. But now I realize that maybe _you_ would've been able to change our parents and the Uchiha. If only I had faced you from the start, tried to see things from your point of view and spoke the truth… But I failed then as I've failed you every day since. I know that nothing I can say now will reach you, because what use have my words ever been?"

He started walking slowly towards Sasuke, hand rising as if to poke him on the forehead yet again. "Yet, I'll say this one thing. You don't ever have to forgive me," Itachi's hand tapped his forehead and then slid around, fingers threading through Sasuke's hair as Itachi leaned in. Their foreheads brushed, reminded Sasuke of those breathless kisses. "Or even return my love, because no matter what you decide from now on…

"I will _always_ love you."


End file.
